Case Study: A Simplified Company Workflow
Inspired by their vision to simplify and streamline the intricate process of securing experienced labor for commercial furniture projects, industry experts Brian Buhl and Vince Contreras collaborated to establish Assemplify. Seeking the expertise of K-Optional Software for software consulting, architecture, and development services, they envisioned Assemplify as a multi-platform custom workflow application that is user-friendly, featuring on-demand quote generation, job requesting, admin job management, real-time job tracking, and a dedicated workforce of “Assemplifiers.”
The Challenge: Complexities and Transformative Goals
Teaming up with McSwain for UI/UX design, our software development team navigated through various complexities. The challenge involved the creation of multiple applications sharing a common database, implementing secure authentication and authorization, integrating secure payments, developing a real-time tracking application, creating a job tracking PWA, and more! Join us as we delve into the challenges, strategic solutions, and transformative outcomes achieved by the team.
Our Assessment: Streamlining Operational Workflow
While we highlight key aspects in our assessment, it’s important to note that several other considerations were integral to the success of Assemplify. These include implementing email triggers for quote and job updates, incorporating chatbot support, implementing user feedback loops, refining the quote ordering flow and more.
Real-time Tracking Application
We developed a real-time tracking application as part of the workflow software. This allows users to monitor Assemplifiers’ live locations, name, profile images, and contact numbers. Additionally, real-time progress updates are seamlessly sent via SMS.
To introduce this feature, a dedicated application (refer to the PWA section below) was crafted specifically for Assemplifiers. Prioritizing the empowerment of their team, the client sought to enable Assemplifiers to deftly handle their assigned jobs, making this app a crucial tool for streamlined job management. Assemplifiers can upload essential details, such as text, images, and videos, during the course of their work, providing valuable insights to customers.
The location data was leveraged to trigger SMS notifications, enhancing communication between all parties involved.
Text Notifications
In conjunction with real-time tracking, strategically timed SMS alerts, were deployed for key milestones. These notifications included job initiation, 15-minute proximity alerts, and job completion confirmation, ensuring effective and timely communication throughout the process.
Progressive Web Application (PWA)
To enhance the user experience, the team harnessed the advantages of a Progressive Web Application (PWA). Balancing the flexibility of a web application with a mobile app-like experience, Assemplifiers could conveniently save the application to their phone, giving a similar feel to a mobile app. The decision to adopt a PWA involved careful consideration of factors such as:
- Faster development time, with the ability to share code with other Assemplify suite applications (admin app, customer-facing app).
- Support for a wide range of devices. Can be downloaded to smart phones, tablets, and laptops/desktops.
- Continuous deployment. Bug fixes and other updates can be easily and quickly pushed, without requiring any updates from users. Next time they open the app, they’ll simply be using the most up-to-date version.
Secure Payment Integration
Supporting a secure and seamless payment processing system within the Assemplify platform. The development team successfully implemented a robust payment gateway, ensuring clients could effortlessly make payments with confidence.
After collecting payment for a quote, the application dynamically transitioned the quoted job to an active status, streamlining the workflow.
Database Architecture and Security
The project necessitated the development of four distinct applications that shared a single database. Ensuring secure authentication and authorization, particularly with Supabase, presented challenges. The team addressed issues related to client access, leveraging postgres row level security to restrict unauthorized access to sensitive information. The solution involved meticulous consideration of user roles, minimizing unnecessary database queries, and implementing a robust security mechanism.
The Results: Revolutionizing Commercial Furniture Installation
Assemplify successfully met the challenges outlined in the initial scope, resulting in a user-friendly platform that streamlines finding, scheduling, and tracking commercial furniture installations. The platform now stands as a revolutionary workflow software solution, eradicating the hassle of coordinating labor for commercial furniture projects and providing a convenient, reliable platform for clients to effortlessly manage their installation needs.
Despite its intricate nature as a custom multi-application solution, customers perceive Assemplify as astonishingly simple and straightforward. Those who have used the platform express complete satisfaction. We look forward to seeing Assemplify grow and continue to satisfy customers with its transformative software.